LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.8333.

A number of analysts have weighed in on LFST shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded LifeStance Health Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LifeStance Health Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ LFST opened at $6.41 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $7.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 320.66 and a beta of 1.11. LifeStance Health Group has a 1-year low of $3.74 and a 1-year high of $8.09.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $382.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $378.51 million. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 0.65% and a net margin of 0.68%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that LifeStance Health Group will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Darren M. Black sold 4,314,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.01, for a total value of $30,247,722.39. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,209,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,760,529.76. The trade was a 12.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bessler sold 119,942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.04, for a total value of $844,391.68. Following the sale, the director owned 1,318,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,285,640.32. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,436,582 shares of company stock worth $31,104,089 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LifeStance Health Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Silversmith Partners I GP LLC acquired a new position in LifeStance Health Group in the fourth quarter worth $100,842,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of LifeStance Health Group in the third quarter valued at about $17,056,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LifeStance Health Group by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,700,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,608,000 after buying an additional 3,086,506 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,793,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,363,000 after buying an additional 1,839,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in LifeStance Health Group by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,363,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,998,000 after buying an additional 1,790,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

About LifeStance Health Group

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.